International Aquafeed Directory 2023-24

17
AQUACULTURE ASC AQUACULTURE
ASC Group Certification supports
small-scale farms
farmed fish is an issue for the salmon
industry. The revised requirements
under Criterion 3.1 address these
concerns by establishing best practices
in managing potential disease and
parasite risks linked to sea lice.
A series of significant changes to the
previous requirements have been made.
The revised standard requires farms to
not only monitor the sea lice species
L. salmonis, but to also include the
less-researched species Caligus, where
applicable (especially British Columbia,
Canada). This will support a better
understanding of the abundance of this
species as a basis for future revisions.
Additionally, to improve consistency of
data collection and analysis, the new
version establishes a clear sea lice
sampling protocol for farms detailing
frequency and sample size among other
factors.
In the previous version of the
standard, exceedance of sea lice limits
was not always immediately identified
or actioned, depending on audit
timings. The new standard addresses
this gap by requiring farms to inform
the Conformity Assessment Bodies
(CABs) within one working day if the
sea lice limit is reached and take
corrective action. If the farm fails
to bring sea lice levels below the
threshold within 21 days, the ASC
certification shall be cancelled, therefore
prohibiting farms from selling fish as
ASC-certified.
ASC Group Certification supports
small-scale farms
More than 1,000 small-scale farms have
already earned ASC certification
for responsibly farmed seafood, as a
result of ASC’s group certification.
Globally, a significant majority of
farmed seafood comes from small- to
medium-sized producers. It is crucial
that ASC certification be accessible to
these smaller businesses around the
world.
Four producer groups have earned
ASC certification so far: the PT
Central Proteina Prima Farm group in
Indonesia, with 560 Pacific white
shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) farms;
Minh Phu Mangroves Shrimp Social
Enterprise in Vietnam, a group of 450
giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon)
farms; Jusanhama Gyokyo Youth
Association in Japan, a cooperative of
19 seaweed farms producing Japanese
kelp and wakame (Laminaria japonica
and Undaria pinnatifida) and the
Azuma-cho Fisheries Cooperative
Association of seven Japanese amberjack
(Seriola quinqueradiata) farms in
Japan.
Group certification recognises groups
of smaller producers that have joined
together - for example, cooperatives and
associations – which can jointly
implement the requirements of the ASC
standards. The group shares the costs,
administrative function and other
resources involved in that implementation
and in the third-party audit that
assesses whether they have fulfilled the
standards.
Many consumers want to know they
are supporting small farmers, and
through ASC group certification, retail
and foodservice companies now have
the assurance they need that seafood
from smaller producers is coming from
verifiably responsible farms.
To ensure that the integrity of the ASC
standard holds as strong for group
certification as individual producer
certification, the standards are not
adjusted for groups to become certified,
and every part of a group must meet the
standards’ requirements to achieve ASC
certification.
Each group appoints a management
body that oversees the steps along the
way toward certification, including
educating the farmers, guiding them into
compliance with the ASC standards,
liaising with the auditor, and maintaining
a centralised management system for
the group. The manager serves as a
reliable point of contact for buyers who
want to source ASC certified product
from the group.
Scottish salmon farms seeking ASC certification on the increase.
Salmon farm, Mowi, UK.
INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED DIRECTORY 2023/24